3 Montesano employees suspended for Internet use

MONTESANO — Three city of Montesano employees have been suspended without pay for wasting time surfing porn, sports, fish and car websites on the Internet.

Mayor Ken Estes told this week’s city council meeting that poor supervision and lack of respect for public property and resources led to a culture of time-wasting.

KBKW-AM reported that eight computers were confiscated from the Public Works Department last summer and an investigator discovered about 8,000 hours of personal use over five years. The Washington State Patrol is investigating if any felony laws were broken.

Two employees were suspended for five days and one for 10. All three have filed grievances through their union. They say they were never told not to use their computers that way.